KT special: How UAE is leading the way in volunteering efforts

Dubai - Thirty-five new organisations also joined the Dubai Volunteering Programme.

UAE citizens and residents have set a global example by supporting government and non-government authorities in its efforts to eradicate Covid-19. Emiratis and expatriates worked tirelessly on the frontlines to distribute aid, medicines and food to vulnerable families. Volunteering efforts doubled since March this year.

On the occasion of International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, celebrated annually on December 5, the UAE’s leadership came forward with praises and incentives for volunteers.

Ahmad Julfar, director-general of the Community Development Authority (CDA), said some 29,661 volunteers of all ages and nationalities had been active in the first six months of the year, and about 2,200 of them are new.

Thirty-five new organisations also joined the Dubai Volunteering Programme.

Volunteering has conspicuously stood out during the Covid-19 health crisis as a sublime humanitarian value, said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Supreme National Committee for Volunteerism during crises.

He made the remarks on Thursday marking the committee’s win of the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. “The value of volunteering as a testament to the Emirati society’s ability to turn challenges into opportunities.”

While forming this committee a few months ago, he said: “Our volunteers, from Emiratis and residents, have embodied an epic of human giving. The integrated and sustainable drive of volunteering in the UAE is a culmination of the visionary vision of late Founding Father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Our leadership has ensured volunteering is a way of life in our society, and highly appreciates giving in times of distress.”

What inspires people to volunteer?

Learning new skills is one of the most important reasons for volunteering, according to the ‘volunteerism survey’, conducted by the Friends of Breastfeeding Association of the Health Promotion Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah.

Making new friends and relationships, career development and training, study requirements, and the inclination to charity work varied between the second to the fifth place, while engaging in volunteer work due to others’ encouragement came in the last position.

The study was conducted in cooperation with the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Sharjah, on the occasion of International Volunteering Day. About 61 per cent of the participants were university students, 57 per cent citizens, and 43 per cent of residents.

Khawla Al Noman, head of Breastfeeding Friends Association, said: “The findings of the study showed an increase in the desire to engage in voluntary work. However, it also indicates the lack of awareness of motivating others to join volunteer work. Hence the need to enhance awareness about encouraging volunteerism and urging others to join voluntary action as a community culture by all groups and individuals of society.”

Global recognition

The UAE is a key regional partner of the programme and plays a key role in supporting volunteers and promoting the culture of volunteering, said Jason Brunick, regional director of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme in the Arab States.

“We commend the UAE’s role in supporting volunteers and promoting the culture of volunteering. We have been monitoring its significant activities in recent years related to reinforcing and regulating volunteer work, most notably through the “volunteers.ae” platform, which was established in partnership between the Emirates Foundation and the Ministry of Community Development,” Brunick told an Arabic daily.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com